The effect of physicochemical properties on paracetamol photodegradation in cuboid bubble column

Abstract

Paracetamol is one of the most anthropogenic micropollutants, and their removal from the environment often requires a specialized method of remediation. In this study, a photocatalyst technique aided with air bubbles was used to degrade the pharmaceutical pollutant paracetamol (PCT) from the water via the COD test and HPLC analysis under different operating conditions. The experiments were carried out in a semi-batch rectangular bubble column with dimensions of 1500 mm height, 30 mm depth, and 200 mm width under UV light. Titanium oxide (TiO2) was used as a source of catalyst. The effect of operating conditions of pH (3-10), air flow rate (0-2) L/min, salinity of solution represented by NaCl concentration (0-1000) mg/L, and 240 min irradiation time on the paracetamol removal were studied. The Box–Behnken design was adopted to study the individual effects of pH (A), air flow rate (B), and salinity (C) and their interactive effects. From the experimental and regression data, a second-order polynomial regression model is predicted, and the variance analysis of the regressions shows that the linear terms (A and B), and all quadratic terms (A, B, and C) have significant effects on the removal percentage of COD. According to numerical optimization, the greatest %COD removal is 76.7 in the process conditions of 5.3 pH, 1L/min, and 269 mg/L of NaCl. The experimental results show that the maximum %COD removal was 78% at pH=7, 1L/min, and 0mg/L of NaCl. HPLC analysis shows 91.2% of paracetamol degradation.